Authorities: Woman Abandoned Baby in Airport Bathroom

Authorities say this video shows a woman carrying her newborn baby wrapped in a blanket through Arizona's Tucson International Airport before abandoning it in a restroom.
(YouTube)

(Newser)
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Authorities in Arizona are looking for a woman they say abandoned her baby in a baggage claim bathroom after giving birth at the Tucson International Airport last month, Good Morning America reports. According to the Arizona Daily Star, the baby boy was found by a rental car employee on a changing table in a restroom in the baggage claim area. There was also a note, KABC reports. "Please help me. My mom had no idea she was pregnant. She is unable and unfit to take care of me. Please get me to the authorities so they can find a good home," the note reads. It continues: "I just want what is best for him and it's not me. Please, I'm sorry." According to the Washington Post, the baby appears healthy and has been taken by the Arizona Department of Child Safety.

An airport custodian says she asked the woman if she was OK after finding blood on the floor of a restroom. She says the woman told her the naked baby was three months old. The custodian also found bloody clothes in a trash can. Authorities believe the woman gave birth in one airport restroom and carried the baby wrapped in a blanket to the restroom where she left him. The Tuscon Airport Authority released security footage of the woman this week. "We would like to know who she is, but we've exhausted our resources," an airport spokesperson tells the Star. Authorities haven't decided on criminal charges against the woman. Women who abandon newborns to authorities at places like fire stations and hospitals are protected by the law; the law doesn't extend to airports.